OR  A  TION 


OF 


HON.   DANIEL   NEEDHAM, 


DEDICATION 


TOWN    HOUSE   IN  AVER,  MASS., 


OCTOBER  26th,  1876. 


AVER,  MASS. : 

H.   Turner,  Book  and  yob  Printer. 
1876. 


ORATION. 


MR.  CHAIRMAN,  CITIZENS  OF  AVER,  LADIES  AND  GENTLE- 
MEN, 

On  the  1 4th  of  February,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy- 
one,  a  bill  enacting  a  law  for  the  establishment  of  the  town 
of  Ayer  received  the  approval  of  the  Massachusetts  Legis- 
lature, and  on  the  succeeding  day  was  marked  by  the  ap- 
proving signature  of  the  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth. 

The  bill  providing  for  the  incorporation  of  this  town  took 
effect  on  the  sixth  day  of  March  of  the  same  year,  and  up- 
on that  day,  the  first  town  meeting  was  held  in  Ayer,  and 
the  last  act  necessary  for  launching  the  town  upon  its  new 
life,  as  an  independent  municipality,  took  place. 

In  naming  the  new  town,  you  had  decided  to  confer  dis- 
tinction upon  a  prominent  citizen  of  a  neighboring  city  ; 
and  he,  in  turn  for  the  honor  conferred,  desired  in  some 
signal  way  to  recognize  his  gratification. 

On  the  sixth  day  of  February,  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy-one,  Dr.  J.  C.  Ayer,  addressed  a  letter,  of  which 
the  following  is  a  copy,  to  Abel  Prescott,  Esq.,  in  answer  to 
a  letter  informing  him  of  the  action  of  the  people  at  Groton 
Junction  in  the  adoption  of  the  new  name  : 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  receive  your  favor  of  the  2d  inst.,  in- 
forming me  of  the  action  of  your  fellow-citizens  in  the  adoption 


of  my  name,  '  Ayer,'  as  the  name  of  your  new  town,  with  Mr. 
Felch's  certificate  as  clerk  of  the  meeting. 

"  I  pray  you,  Sir,  to  convey  to  your  fellow-citizens  my  apprecia- 
tion and  acknowledgment  of  the  high  honor  they  seek  to  confer 
upon  me,  and  my  sincere  hope  that  the  future  will  present  no 
occasion  to  regret  the  choice  which  they  have  made. 

"  I  should  be  insensible  to  the  influences  that  govern  men,  if 
the  partiality  of  your  citizens  did  not  awaken  in  me  an  interest 
in  the  well-being  of  "Ayer,"  and  I  assure  you,  Sir,  that  I  shall 
wait  with  readiness  to  aid  therein  as  opportunity  or  occasion  may 
arise." 

Being  desirous  of  recognizing  by  some  public  act,  a  hearty 
interest  in  the  new  town  which  bore  his  name,  Dr.  J.  C. 
Ayer,  on  the  26th  day  of  Sept.,  1871,  forwarded  to  the  Se- 
lectmen of  Ayer  a  letter,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy : 

"  Wishing  to  acknowledge  the  high  and  generous  distinction 
conferred  upon  me  by  the  residents  of  Ayer,  in  adopting  my  name 
for  their  Town,  and  in  view  of  the  uncertainty  of  human  life  and 
fortune,  I  desire  now  to  accomplish  and  perfect  the  following : 

"  To  donate  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  to 
three  Trustees,  who  shall  be -chosen  by  the  Town  for  the  pur- 
poses of  this  trust,  as  follows  :  one  for  one  year,  one  for  two 
years,  one  for  three  years,  and  their  successors  to  be  chosen  ever 
afterwards,  one  each  year  for  the  term  of  three  years. 

"These  Trustees  shall  receive  and  invest  the  money  safely,  and 
from  the  annual  interest  thereof  shall  provide  a  silver  medal,  to 
be  given  each  year  to  the  best  scholar  in  the  public  schools  dur- 
ing the  year,  none  to  be  but  once  eligible ;  the  award  to  be  made 
by  the  school  committee. 

"  Of  the  remaining  interest,  four-fifths  shall  be  annually  paid 
over  by  the  Trustees  to  the  school  committee  of  Ayer,  to  be  by 
them  applied  for  promoting  the  education  of  youth  in  the  town 
in  such  way  and  manner  as  to  them  shall  seem  best  to  further 
the  purpose  of  the  grant ;  the  remaining  one-fifth  to  be  added  to 
the  principal  for  its  preservation  and  increase.  In  case  of  loss 
to  this  fund,  reducing  it  below  ten  thousand  dollars,  then  the 
transfer  of  interest  annually  to  the  school  committee,  as  herein- 


5 

above  provided,  shall  cease,  until  the  sum  invested  shall  again 
reach  the  original  capital  intended  of  ten  thousand  dollars. 

"  Whenever  the  Trustees  for  this  fund  are  elected,  I  desire  to 
place  the  money  in  their  hands." 

This  proposition  not  meeting  with  entire  acceptance,  and 
Dr.  Ayer  being  notified  of  the  fact,  a  letter  bearing  date 
Oct.  2  ist,  1871,  was  addressed  by  him  to  E.  Dana  Bancroft, 
Esq.,  of  which  letter  the  following  is  a  copy : 

"  On  reflection  it  seems  to  me  desirable,  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  your  citizens  differ  somewhat  as  to  the  disposition  of  the  do- 
nation I  desire  to  make,  that  all  my  conditions  and  suggestions 
which  might  embarrass  them  should  be  withdrawn,  leaving  it  en- 
tirely at  their  discretion. 

"  Therefore,  I  beg  you  Sir,  submit  my  readiness  to  pay  over  the 
amount  to  the  Selectmen  of  Ayer,  or  any  person  authorized  by 
them  upon  call,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Town,  its  schools,  or  what- 
ever its  people  shall  direct." . 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  a  more  liberal  proposi- 
tion than  this  could  have  been  made.  In  substance,  Dr. 
Ayer  says,  I  am  willing  to  relinquish  all  my  cherished  plans  ; 
willing  to  sink  all  my  preferences  and  wave  all  my  judg- 
ment and  opinion,  that  the  gift  may  be  thoroughly  accepta- 
ble to  the  people  who  have  chosen  my  name  for  the  char- 
tered name  of  the  new  town.  How  could  he  have  said  more  ? 

In  accordance  with  this  sentiment  the  money  was  paid 
over  to  the  town,  and  the  town  had  it  in  its  power  and  dis- 
cretion to  use  it  in  accordance  with  its  will. 

But  doubters  were  not  all  silenced,  and  doubts  were  not 
all  removed.  The  building  of  a  town  hall  had  been  suggest- 
ed by  quite  a  number  of  the  citizens  of  Ayer,  as  the  best 
disposition  to  be  made  of  the  gift. 

Still  entertaining  the  liberal  view  expressed  in  a  letter  to 
John  Spaulding,  Esq.,  Oct.,  1871,  "  If  my  gift  can  be  made 


more  acceptable  to  your  fellow-citizens,  I  shall  be  glad  to 
assist  in  such  a  change ; "  Dr.  Ayer  readily  accepted  the 
proposition  of  the  town  hall,  and  June  4th,  1872,  addressed 
a  letter  to  Henry  Woods,  Esq.,  in  the  following  words : 

"  If  the  Town  can  obtain  a  lot,  and  build  a  foundation  there- 
upon, in  accordance  with  the  specifications  of  the  architect,  I  have 
employed  for  that  purpose  (Messrs.  Weston  &  Rand),  of  a  build- 
ing of  about  fifty-five  feet  front,  and  about  one  hundred  and  fif- 
teen deep,  up  one  story,  I  would  place  thereupon,  and  finish  a 
Town  House,  to  contain  a  hall,  ante-rooms,  and  appliances,  fin- 
ish and  complete  the  same.  The  foundation  to  be  built  up  one 
story  by  the  Town,  in  accordance  with  the  style  and  plans  of  the 
Architect,  and  to  their  acceptation  as  shall  be  the  entire  building. 

"  I  should  wish  to  employ  the  amount  already  given  to  the 
Town  of  Ayer,  and  pay  the  balance  myself." 

And  on  the  eleventh  day  of  June,  1872,  a  letter  of  which 
the  following  is  a  copy,  was  addressed  by  Dr.  J.  C.  Ayer  to 
Henry  Woods,  Charles  Brown  and  G.  C.  Brock,  Committee: 

"  My  architects  advise  me  that  we  can  more  conveniently  ac- 
complish our  wishes  in  building  a  Town  House  for  your  people, 
if  we  have,  the  construction  of  the  whole  shell  of  the  house. 
Therefore  permit  me  to  substitute  for  my  proposition  addressed 
to  Mr.  Wood,  the  following  : 

"  If  it  is  your  pleasure  to  provide  the  land  shown  to  Mr.  Wes- 
ton ;  grade  and  prepare  it  to  his  acceptation,  and  build  a  founda- 
tion thereon  up  to  the  brick,  conformably  to  his  requirements  ;  I 
will  build  the  walls  thereupon  one  story  high  to  contain  library, 
post  office,  and  other  rooms  not  ordinarily  pertaining  to  a  Town 
House  as  has  been  suggested  ;  I  will  build  above  and  upon  that, 
the  Town  House.  You  to  cut  up  and  finish  the  lower  story  as 
you  desire,  in  conformity  with  the  general  style  and  finish  of  the 
building  and  with  the  requirements  of  the  architects. 

"  The  amount  already  given  being  returned  to  me,  I  shall  build 
upon  the  first  story  above  mentioned,  a  Town  House  for  the  Town 
of  Ayer,  according  to  plans  and  specifications  which  Architects 
shall  prepare. 


11  To  restate  my  suggestions  perhaps  more  clearly ;  you  provide 
and  prepare  the  land  and  foundation  up  to  the  level  of  the  first 
story,  including  fence,  stone  walks,  &c.,  according  to  the  require- 
ments of  Architects ;  I  build  the  walls  of  the  first  story  and  a 
Town  House  above  and  upon  them.  The  whole  to  be  done  in 
conformity  with  the  requirements  of  the  Architects." 

These  brief  letters  contain  a  full  history  of  the  origin  and 
erection  of  this  building  and  indicate  on  the  part  of  the 
writer  in  their  letter  and  spirit,  a  full  determination  to  make 
his  gift  to  the  town  which  had  honored  him,  thoroughly  ac- 
ceptable to  the  citizens  of  Ayer. 

As  the  result  of  these  letters  and  this  gift,  this  building, 
in  its  imposing  grandeur,  stands  here  to-day ;  and  we  are 
here  to  aid  in  the  ceremonies  of  dedication. 

The  ideal  Government  of  the  founders  of  the  American 
Republic  is  more  perfectly  symbolized  by  a  town  hall  than 
by  any  other  material  structure. 

Said  John  Carver  and  his  forty  associates  who  signed  the 
compact  on  board  the  May  Flower,  November  eleventh, 
sixteen  hundred  and  twenty  :  —  "  We  do  by  these  presents 
solemnly  and  mutually,  in  the  presence  of  God  and  one  an- 
other, covenant  and  combine  ourselves  together  into  a  civil 
body  politic,  for  our  better  ordering  and  preservation  and 
furtherance  of  the  ends  aforesaid  ;  and  by  virtue  hereof  do 
enact,  constitute  and  frame,  such  just  and  equal  laws,  ordi- 
nances, acts,  constitutions  and  officers,  from  time  to  time, 
as  shall  be  thought  most  meet  and  convenient  for  the  gen- 
eral good  of  the  Colony ;  into  which  we  promise  all  due 
submission  and  obedience." 

The  whole  theory  of  our  Government  was  pronounced  in 
this  simple  agreement  which  foreshadowed  the  growth  de- 
veloped from  an  ancestry  who  recognized  man  as  the  equal 
of  man  in  all  the  relations  of  civil  polity. 


8 

These  men  had  no  ambitions  as  the  founders  of  a  nation 
or  the  recognized  leaders  of  a  great  people.  In  fact,  they 
arranged  a  simple  compact  for  a  kind  of  family  government, 
and  their  desire  for  liberty  and  equality  never  comprehend- 
ed or  attained  the  thought  of  an  organized  body  of  law-giv- 
ers outside  of  and  beyond 'themselves. 

They,  the  people ;  —  the  heads  of  families,  agreed  upon 
the  only  constitution  which  they  conceived  necessary  for 
their  government ;  and  to  that  they  affixed  their  names,  and 
by  that  they  determined  to  abide. 

They  had  little  opinion  of  human  law,  except  to  abhor  it ; 
little  opinion  of  human  rulers,  except  to  fear  them  ;  little 
opinion  of  human  judicial  organizations  except  as  interpre- 
ters of  law  to  promote  the  selfish  aggrandizement  of  a  few  to 
the  injury  of  the  masses. 

They  regarded  themselves  and  their  posterity,  under  the 
Divine  law,  written  not  upon  tables  of  stone. 

They  caught  the  whisperings  of  the  inspired  word,  "  this 
is  the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with  the  house  of  Israel, 
after  those  days  saith  the  Lord  ;  I  will  put  my  laws  into 
their  minds  and  write  them  in  their  hearts  ;  and  I  will  be 
to  them  a  God,  and  they  shall  be  to  me  a  people  ;  and  they 
shall  not  teach  every  man  his  neighor  and  every  man  his 
brother,  saying  know  the  Lord  ;  for  all  shall  know  me  from 
the  least  to  the  greatest."  This  grand  conception  was  the 
ideal  government ;  and  in  the  simplicity  of  their  lives  and 
the  integrity  of  their  high  born  purposes,  they  could  con- 
ceive of  the  possibility  of  a  government  in  this  new  world, 
which  would  not  only  rest  upon  the  doctrines  of  Christian 
faith,  but  drink  in  from  the  noblest  utterances  of  prophet 
and  apostle,  its  only  inspirations. 


So  long  as  this  sentiment  prevailed,  so  long  the  meeting 
house  answered  the  purposes  of  both  spiritual  and  civil  needs. 
But  society  grew  and  changed  ;  men  whose  convictions  were 
not  based  upon  principles  of  Christian  faith  found  way  into 
the  new  organization  ;  and,  although,  the  great  idea  of  equal 
rights  under  the  law  still  remained  the  basis  of  an  ideal 
government,  laws  more  comprehensive  than  originally  con- 
templated in  the  compact  were  needed  ;  laws  with  severe 
penalties  affixed  to  their  violation,  that  encroachments  upon 
life,  personal  liberty  and  the  enjoyment  of  the  productions 
of  labor  might  be  successfully  guarded  against.  The  early 
settlers  of  New  England,  thus,  in  the  course  of  time,  devel- 
oped the  town  house  ;  which  was  and  is,  a  purely  American 
institution  ;  and  as  we  understand  it,  the  town  house  or  town 
hall  exists  in  no  other  country,  and  dates  for  its  origin  to 
the  development  of  civil  government  in  New  England. 

The  dedication  of  a  town  house  was  to  the  fathers  as  ne- 
cessary as  the  dedication  of  a  meeting  house.  Heretofore 
religion  and  the  civil  government  had  been  united.  The 
home  government  had  not  separated  them  ;  earliest  tradi- 
tion had  brought  them  through  the  long  lines  of  generations 
as  coexistant  in  ruler  and  ruled ;  —  in  government  and  gov- 
erned. And  the  settlers  of  this  country,  although  they  con- 
ceived no  original  idea  of  separating  religion  and  civil  gov- 
ernment, developed  a  policy  far  beyond  their  education  and 
traditions. 

The  dedication  of  the  town  house  had  for  them  a  great 
significance.  It  meant,  for  a  civil  polity  what  the  dedication 
of  the  church  meant  for  a  religious  ;  —  the  sacredly  setting 
apart  for  the  people,  of  a  local  family  house,  where  all  persons 
designated  citizens,  should  have  an  equal  voice  and  vote;  — 


10 

where  no  citizen  should  fail  of  right  to  recognition  and 
where  upon  a  common  and  equal  platform  all  could  be  heard. 
It  was  the  first  castle  ever  erected  to  individual  civil  liberty 
by  a  local  community  ;  and  the  dedication  of  such  a  build- 
ing was  designed  to  call  especial  attention  to  the  great  un- 
derlying principle  of  the  recognition  of  the  equal  right  of 
men,  to  be  heard  in  all  matters  and  measures  which  might 
be  adopted  for  their  government  and  the  protection  of  their 
persons  and  property. 

The  town  was  to  the  fathers  a  community  which  could 
have  in  and  of  itself  a  perfect  government.  Its  selectmen  ; 
—  men  chosen  for  their  virtue,  good  judgment  and  general 
knowledge  ;  —  were  selected  from  the  mass  of  citizens,  be- 
cause better  fitted  to  manage  and  control  in  public  affairs ; 
and  the  town  clerk,  "  whose  knowledge  of  letters  and  skill 
in  penmanship  "  should  fit  him  peculiarly  for  his  important 
position,  was  selected  with  great  care  by  the  citizens. 

In  their  grave  view  of  the  town  house  belonging  to  the 
town ;  of  every  citizen  having  ownership  in  it  and  directly 
or  indirectly  helping  build  it,  they  appreciated  the  deep  res- 
ponsibility resting  upon  all  for  the  manner  of  its  use. 

It  was  the  people's  Parliament  house ;  not  the  king's. 
Therefore  by  solemn  act,  with  reverence  and  public  notice, 
it  should  be  consecrated  to  the  purposes  of  civil  equality. 
To  the  men  who  had  left  all  the  institutions  of  civilized  life, 
abandoned  the  homes  of  their  fathers  and  sought  new  homes 
in  the  wilds  of  America,  civil  liberty  and  personal  equality 
under  the  law,  had  a  meaning  far  deeper  than  words  could 
easily  speak. 

We  go  back  with  pride,  pleasure  and  profit  to  the  deep 
meaning  of  the  New  England  fathers  in  the  dedication  of 


II 

the  town  hall.  And  to-day  we  accept  this  grand  building 
as  a  pledge  of  the  people  to  whom  it  belongs,  that  here  shall 
the  equality  of  the  citizen  be  maintained  and  the  protection 
of  the  town  secured,  by  the  selection  of  the  best  represen- 
tative men  to  fill  all  the  elective  offices  within  its  jurisdic- 

i 

tron.     It  is  a  most  fit  occasion  to 

"  Think  what  we  are  and  for  what  ends  designed  ; 
How  we  may  best,  through  life's  long  mazes  wind ; 
What  we  should  wish  for  ;  how  we  may  discern 
The  bounds  of  wealth  and  its  true  uses  learn, 
How  fix  the  portion  which  we  ought  to  give 
To  friends,  relations,  country  ;  —  how  to  live 
As  fits  our  station  ;  and  how  best  pursue 
What  God  has  placed  us  in  this  world  to  do." 

A  hundred  years  have  passed  since  the  first  town  house 
was  dedicated  in  the  American  Republic ! 

A  hundred  years,  and  the  nation  has  grown  from  three  to 
forty  millions  of  people  ! 

A  hundred  years,  and  the  wealth  of  the  nation  has  in- 
creased in  a  ratio  far  exceeding  that  of  its  population ! 

A  hundred  years,  and  the  territory  of  the  nation  has  in- 
creased from  a  territory  numbered  by  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  square  miles  to  a  domain  measured  only  by  millions ! 

A  hundred  years,  and  we  have  challenged  the  nations  of 
the  world  to  compare  notes  with  us  in  all  the  productions  of 
the  industries  of  life  ;  —  and  the  challenge  has  been  accept- 
ed, and  to-day  on  our  American  soil,  in  one  of  the  original 
thirteen  States,  from  whence  the  historic  peals  of  the  liber- 
ty bell  have  made  themselves  heard  throughout  the  world, 
Europe  and  Asia,  Africa,  South  America  and  Australia, 
have  gathered  their  forces  of  productive  industry  and  sub- 
mitted them  for  competition  and  comparison,  and  ask  an  im- 
partial judgment. 


12 

The  century  of  progress,  in  point  of  time,  has  brought 
the  people  of  the  most  remote  sections  of  the  country,  in 
1876,  much  nearer  together  than  were  the  people  of  the 
more  limited  territory  in  1776. 

The  century  ot  progress  has  left  its  mark  of  change  on 
all  our  institutions  of  learning  and  charity  ;  of  art  and  de- 
sign ;  of  implement  of  labor  and  manner  of  production. 

Much  of  the  invention  and  handiwork  of  the  fathers  has 
been  laid-  aside,  and  so  completely  have  they  passed  by,  that 
we  regard  their  possession,  as  fortunate  relics,  to  indicate 
the  rapid  march  of  a  hundred  years  of  industrial  art. 

But  no  progress  of  art ;  no  skill  in  the  adaptation  of  ma- 
chinery; no  production  which  study  or  experience  has  de- 
vised, has  supplanted  this  noble  edifice  of  our  ancestors, — 

the  TOWN  HALL. 

Like  the  everlasting  mountains  of  our  own  New  England, 
the  town  hall  still  stands  the  emblem  of  equal  rights, 
among  a  people  born  to  the  love  of  liberty  and  civil  equal- 
ity. 

How  better  can  I  improve  the  remaining  portion  of  the 
brief  space  allotted  me  in  these  exercises  of  dedication,  than 
by  calling  your  attention  to  the  significance  of  the  town 
house  as  it  has  stood  through  the  century  of  the  Republic 
and  as  it  still  continues  to  stand,  an  inheritance  from  the 
fathers,  which  like  a  city  set  upon  a  hill  has  given  light 
among  all  nations. 

A  fit  name  of  the  Government  under  which  we  live  would 
be  a  TOWN  HOUSE  GOVERNMENT.  Popular  liberty  has  had 
its  first  protection  in  the  local  power  which  centered  in 
New  England  communities  in  this  people's  citadel :  —  the 
town  house.  And  the  ideal  American  sovereign,  originated 


13 

with  the  equal  right  of  every  citizen,  to  discuss  and  debate 
upon  a  common  platform  all  the  intricate  questions  of  Gov- 
ernment and  to  enjoy  in  common  with  every  other  citizen 
an  equal  vote  and  influence  in  the  adoption  of  every  civil 
constitution  and  law. 


THE    TOWN    HOUSE    REPRESENTS    FREE    SPEECH. 

"  Here  shall  free  speech  the  people's  rights  maintain, 
Unawed  by  tyrants  and  unbribed  by  gain." 

Free  speech  may  sound  familiar  and  trite ;  but  it  never 
stood  for  more  in  the  life  of  the  American  citizen,  and  was 
never  more  endangered  by  the  clamor  of  demagogues  or  by 
sectional  controversies  in  any  previous  period  of  the  na- 
tion's history. 

The  free  speech  of  a  citizen  and  the  free  speech  of  an 
individual  may  enjoy  no  kinship.  No  one,  surely,  will 
claim  for  it  an  unbridled  tongue.  The  statute  limits  it  in 
its  prohibition  of  profanity  and  blasphemy.  It  is  a  right 
conferred  by  and  protected  under  the  law  ;  differing  from  a 
personal  right,  it  attains  the  magnitude  of  a  trust  for  public 
uses.  The  welfare  of  society  underlies  it.  Being  a  pro- 
tected right  under  the  law  and  owing  its  origin  to  an  act  of 
legislation,  and  depending  for  its  maintainance  on  the  po- 
lice force  of  organized  Government,  it  is  in  no  sense  a  na- 
tural right. 

By  descending  to  personalities  in  the  discussion  of  public 
questions  ;  by  using  the  trickery  of  the  charlatan  and  dema- 
gogue ;  men  are  made  unworthy  of  this  high  boon  of  the 
citizen  and  attack  the  very  foundation  upon  which  its  secur- 
ity rests. 


14 

The  free  speech  symbolized  by  the  town  house,  restricts 
itself  to  the  discussion  of  public  questions  ;  in  a  fair,  can- 
did, dignified  manner ;  by  the  use  of  language  which  will 
neither  excite  or  beget  personal  animosities. 

This  great  public  right  must  never  in  its  uses  interfere 
with  a  corresponding  privilege  of  use  and  enjoyment  in 
every  other  citizen.  Like  the  right  to  the  highway —  it  is 
for  a  purpose ;  and  whenever  the  use  of  it  amounts  to  an 
obstruction  of  another  who  has  an  equal  right  to  its  privi- 
leges, the  unauthorized  use  becomes  a  trespass  and  an  of- 
fence. 

Whenever  free  speech  ceases  to  be  in  the  interests  of  so- 
ciety it  is  no  longer  a  protection,  but  a  subversion  of  both 
liberty  and  equality. 

In  their  attempts  to  secure  unrestricted  freedom  to 
speech,  the  Jacobins  and  Red  Republicans  of  the  French 
Revolution  created  a  despotism  far  worse  than  any  mon- 
archy of  Europe.  And  that  which  attempted  to  be  free 
Government,  was  a  reign  of  terror  during  which  the  very 
streets  of  Paris  were  rivers  of  human  blood. 

THE  TOWN  HOUSE  REPRESENTS  THE  FREE  BALLOT. 

This  is  the  place  first  to  express  our  view  of  public  policy  and 
then  to  cast  a  vote  for  the  man  who  will  the  nearest  repre- 
sent that  view.  .  The  casting  of  the  ballot  is  not,  however, 
an  individual  right,  but  a  citizen's  privilege.  Therefore 
the  right  to  cast  a  ballot  becomes  a  public  right ;  no  more 
to  be  trifled  with  or  abused  than  any  other  puplic  right 
secured  under  the  law.  If  the  right  to  vote  were  individual, 
all  men  and  women  and  children  could  cast  a  ballot.  But 


15 

the  ri^ht  of  ballot  is  a  citizen's  right  and  the  law  restricts 
it  to  citizens  and  defines  the  word  citizen,  so  that  there 
shall  be  no  misunderstanding.  The  ballot  which  the  citizen 
has  the  right  to  cast  belongs  to  -him  only  as  a  member  of 
a  community  of  men,  to  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  that 
community.  It  is  a  trust  conferred  by  the  law  ;  therefore 
the  sale  of  the  ballot  is  prohibited  and  punishable. 

If  the  ballot  was  an  individual  right,  and  involved  owner- 
ship, as  does  individual  property,  the  citizen  without  dis- 
grace could  fix  his  price  for  his  ballot  as  he  does  for  his 
house  and  land  and  make  sale  of  it. 

It  is  not  only  not  a  personal  right,  —  but  it  is  a  forfeitable 
right.  Under  certain  conditions  the  citizen  may  lose  it ;  — 
violation  of  the  law  may  dispossess  him  and  make  a  rein- 
statement of  his  right  depend  upon  a  Legislative  act. 

The  public  interest  underlies  the  exercise  of  the  ballot  in 
the  town  house,  as  it  underlies  free  speech  or  the  right  of 
way  in  the  public  thoroughfare. 

THE    TOWN    HOUSE    REPRESENTS    POPULAR   EDUCATION. 

Underlying  free  speech  and  the  exercise  of  the  ballot,  is 
knowledge.  Who  can  speak  well  if  he  has  not  words  ! 
who  can  act  intelligently  if  he  has  not  wisdom  ! 

Our  great  system  of  public  instruction  owes  its  support 
to  the  edicts  of  the  town  house. 

If  measures  for  the  support  of  public  schools  are  not 
adopted,  the  town  house  belies  itself,  and  the  free  speech 
and  free  ballot  which  it  symbolizes  are  dead  carcasses  and 
the  building  a  whited  sepulchre. 


i6 

"Who  knows  better  than  we  that  "  the  winds  and  waves 
are  always  on  the  side  of  the  best  navigators."  And  what 
does  this  signify,  except  that  he  who  learns  the  most  of  the 
elements,  approximates  the  nearest  to  being  their  master. 

Said  Lord  Brougham,  "  There  have  been  periods  when 
the  country  heard  with  dismay  that  the  soldier  was  abroad. 
That  is  not  the  case  now.  Let  the  soldier  be  ever  so  much 
abroad  in  the  present  age,  he  can  do  nothing.  There  is  anoth- 
er person  abroad  —  perhaps  a  less  important  person  —  in  the 
eyes  of  some  an  insignificant  person  —  whose  labors  have 
tended  to  produce  this  state  of  things  ;  the  school-master 
is  abrpad ;  and  I  trust  more  to  the  school-master,  armed  with 
his  primer,  than  I  do  to  the  soldier,  in  his  full  military  ar- 
ray, for  extending  and  upholding  the  liberties  of  my  country." 

The  public  schools  hail  from  the  town  house  ;  —  they  or- 
iginate in  the  town  meeting ;  —  and  the  appropriations  for 
their  support  can  come  from  no  other  source.  When  that 
fountain  ceases  to  yield  a  supply,  the  school-house  will  be 
but  a  monument  of  departed  glory. 

Whatever  is  to  be  done,  implies  some  one  to  d>o  it.  If 
the  people  from  a  proper  interest  in  public  education  lack 
the  capacity,  the  demagogue  will  seize  the  reins  and  lead 
the  way  from  democracy  to  tyranny. 

Whoever  votes  against  liberal  means  for  the  support  of 
public  schools,  votes  against  the  theory  of  the  town  hall 
and  self-government.  Means  must  be  adapted  to  ends.  Ig- 
norance never  preserved  the  liberty  of  a  people  or  advanced 
their  progress  from  bondage  to  freedom.  School-houses 
may  not  necessarily  be  evidences  of  intellectual  growth,  but 
the  absence  of  the  school-house  and  the  school-master  will 


17 

necessitate  a  more  vigilant  police  and  subvert  the  founda- 
tions of  democratic  institutions. 

THE  TOWN  HOUSE  REPRESENTS  INTEGRITY  OF  PURPOSE 
AND  AGREEMENT  TO  YIELD  THE  INDIVIDUAL  PREFERENCE  TO 
THE  PUBLIC  GOOD. 

The  loyal  citizen  accepts  the  will  of  the  majority  and  rec- 
ognizes his  allegiance  to  that  will,  as  expressed  in  constitu- 
tional law. 

Said  Judge  Marshall  —  "A  strict  observance  of  justice 
and  public  faith  and  a  steady  adherence  to  virtue,  are 
the  principles  of  good  government." 

Destitute  of  these  elements,  GOVERNMENT  is  A  SHAM.  It 
matters  little  what  we  call  it ;  THE  BETTER  THE  NAME,  THE 

MORE  GLARING  THE  PRETENCE. 

We  are  the  rulers.  The  stream  cannot  rise  above  the 
fountain,  and  if  there  be  a  lack  of  virtue  in  the  people, 
they  may  fail  to  see  the  hand-writing,  but  it  will  be  as 
surely  upon  the  walls  as  in  the  days  of  Belshazzar. 

THE  TOWN  HOUSE  REPRESENTS  AN  ELASTIC  GOVERNMENT  J 

humanity  made  it  to  meet  the  wants  of  humanity. 

As  the  town  house  community  grows,  so  grows  the 
government  under  which  they  thrive.  The  people  are  first 
in  consequence,  and  the  government  has  neither  value  nor 
significance,  except  as  it  aids  them  in  their  development. 

When  an  old  constitution  becomes  worthless  a  new  one 
is  adopted ;  when  the  new  one  is  not  broad  enough  to  meet 
the  wants  of  the  people,  amendments  are  engrafted,  and  the 
growth  of  the  people  is  not  hindered. 

The  people  are  the  ruled,  and  the  people  are  the  rulers  ; 
and  as  the  people  develope  new  wants  and  protections,  the 
new  wants  and  protections  are  instantly  supplied ;  and  the 


i8 

government  broadens  and  widens  ;  and  ancestral  and  time- 
worn  bands  give  way. 

This  elasticity  of  our  Republic  growing  out  of  the  town 
house,  has  widely  influenced  all  the  governments  of  the 
civilized  world.  England  recognizes  it,  and  changes  its 
ministry  when  it  fails  of  the  support  of  the  House  of 
Commons ;  Germany  recognizes  it,  and  elevates  Bismarck 
to  the  rank  of  a  Prince  ;  Russia  recognizes  it,  and  proclaims 
freedom  to  its  millions  of  serfs  ;  Italy  recognizes  it,  and 
separates  civil  from  ecclesiastical  authority.  Every  grow- 
ing government  must  recognize  elasticity ;  and,  in  recog- 
nizing it,  acknowledge  that  GOVERNMENT  is  VALUABLE  ON- 
LY AS  IT  MEETS  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  PEOPLE  AND  LIFTS 
AND  CARRIES  BURTHENS  FOR  HUMANITY,  AND  ELEVATES  A 
NATION  TO  A  MORE  PERFECT  COMPREHENSION  OF  THE 
ABILITIES  AND  POSSIBILITIES  OF  MAX. 

I  have  called  attention  to  the  deep,  broad  significance  of 
the  town  house,  as  understood  by  the  fathers,  and  as  inter- 
preted by  the  history  of  New  England. 

To-day,  you  citizens  of  Ayer,  accept  this  town  house,  in 
part  a  gift  of  him  for  whom  your  town  was  named,  and  in 
part  the  production  of  your  aggregate  contributions  to  the 
treasury  and  credit  of  your  town. 

It  is  too  late  to  question  the  wisdom  of  building  it.  It 
is  too  late  to  enquire  if  you  might  not  have  erected  an 
edifice  at  less  cost  or  more  in  harmony  with  your  imme- 
diate necessities.  Here  is  the  building  in  its  grand  and 
stately  proportions ;  an  honor  to  the  enterprise  of  any 
man,  or  body  of  men,  and  happily  adapted  to  the  uses  for 
which  the  town  house  is  established. 

And,  to-day,  bygones  are  bygones.     Doubt,  must  yield  to 


19 

faith.  Your  fortunate  town  location,  commanding  as  it 
does  the  most  ready  communication  with  all  parts  of  the 
country,  cannot  fail  to  give  you  an  extended  business  and 
an  active  population.  Already  in  your  infancy,  you  have 
developed  a  capacity  for  growth,  which  you  may  look  upon 
with  pride,  and  your  neighbors  with  emulation. 

From  less  than  a  valuation  of  eight  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  when  you  took  upon  yourselves  the  responsibility 
of  an  independent  organization  and  separated  yourselves 
from  the  mother  town  of  Groton,  you  have  approximated 
to  twelve  hundred  thousand  dollars ;  —  an  increase  of 
which  you  may  well  be  proud  and  which  may  well  stimulate 
courage  to  encounter  difficulties  of  more  than  ordinary 
magnitude. 

To-day,  with  as  much  thrift  as  the  average  manufacturing 
town  of  Massachusetts,  and  with  a  growth,  since  your  or- 
ganization, far  exceeding  any  town  in  your  neighborhood, 
you  come  together,  and  by  public  ceremony  perform  a  great 
public  act.  You  dedicate  this  town  hall ;  and  by  the  act 
of  dedication,  give  an  outspoken  promise  to  be  governed 
by  the  principles  it  teaches  and  the  character  of  the  public 
life  it  comprehends. 

Aye,  more.  You  dedicate  and  accept  it  as  a  great  trust, 
to  be  handed  in  all  its  purity  of  purpose  and  design  to  your 
successors ;  and  you  have  called  in  these  guests  in  attesta- 
tion of  this  solemn  promise. 

They  have  come  from  city  and  town,  at  your  request 
and  by  your  invitation,  to  witness  this  solemn  compact, 
which,  in  the  dedication  of  this  building,  you  make  for  your- 
selves, and  among  yourselves,  as  the  citizens  of  an  organ- 


L/BRARV 


20 

ized  town,  with  all  your  sister  towns,  your  State  and  the 
Nation. 

This  is  no  unmeaning  or  idle  ceremony  which  you  have 
summoned  us  to  take  part  in  ;  and  we  join  you  on  this  glad 
and  historic  occasion,  believing  that  you  fully  comprehend 
the  significance  of  the  ceremony,  and  that  by  it  you  pledge 
new  and  increased  devotion  to  the  FREEDOM  01--  SPEECH, 

FREEDOM     OF     THE     BALLOT,     UNIVERSAL     EDUCATION     AND 
POPULAR    GOVERNMENT. 


